The Wonderful Dogfish Racket

Some background – Sara…h introduced TNL youth to the March Hare in 2010 as she was creating With Cruel Times in Between based on the writings of Al Pittman as part of the Newfoundland & Labrador-Tasmania Island Exchange project. The show premiered at the 2011 March Hare, prior to heading to Tasmania.

The show – In the 1930s Newfoundland’s Commission of Government issued a bounty on dogfish. Fishermen were paid a small sum for all dogfish caught. Mountains of stinking fish began to pile up in many places around the coast, creating a health hazard. But the dogfish kept coming to the trawls. There was no relief until the cycle ran its course and the creatures left on their own.

In 2014, Sara…h was approached by Rex Brown about the possibility of adapting the story of Tom Dawe’s wonderful book A Wonderful Dogfish Racket. Tom & Sara…h chatted at the 2014 March Hare with Tom giving Sara…h carte blanche to bring this story to stage. After a workshop production in 2015, Sara…h considered further development of this homegrown story. Unfortunately, her passing later in 2015 prevented her from working further on this play. Today, students from the Sara…h McDonald Youth Theatre Program, are joined by former students of Sara..h’s as a thank you for her passion, and in celebration of the rich storytelling history of our home that Sara…h loved so deeply.